'If things go to plan, England have quite a good passage in the World Cup knock-out stage' - Q&A with Gabby Logan

Gabby Logan hopes she won’t be thrown into another bus stop when tackling a daunting bike ride tomorrow… and hopes Liverpool stay on track for success in the race for the title.

How did you get roped into former England rugby star Paul Sampson’s charity bike ride then?

His wife [TV presenter Kirsty Gallacher] and I were having a general chit-chat when it came up and the next thing I knew I’d signed up to do a leg of it [from London to Portsmouth]. I’m hoping Sammo will be supportive of his wife, who’s riding that day, and not disappear off into the distance!

How’s your training been going? Any cycling mishaps?

I’ve not done that much on the roads but I’ve done rides in the past. My only fear is falling off. I did a ride at Buckingham Palace with Kenny [her husband, the ex-Scotland rugby player] and I was in the bus lane when a rubbish lorry obviously didn’t see me. They avoided Kenny no problem but I was sent flying onto the pavement and into a bus stop, leaving me with some cuts and bruises. I think it was quite disturbing for Kenny as he just saw me disappear and obviously thought it was worse than thankfully it turned out to be.

It’s football and athletics more than cycling that’s keeping you busy though this summer, isn’t it?

Yes, I’m doing the World Cup, the Commonwealth Games and European Championships, and I’m involved in quite a few Diamond League events as well. But things have eased off a bit with me having stopped doing Football Focus — I worked 48 out of 52 weekends last year!

What have you made of the Premier League this season?

It’s been incredible. Last year, it was all a foregone conclusion and while it was special with Sir Alex Ferguson retiring it missed the drama of the previous season. This time around, that’s back and there’s so many good stories, not just David Moyes but the whole Liverpool situation so many years after Hillsborough, and Steven Gerrard potentially coming to the end of his career. I’d said back in January I’d be happy if they won the title and I got a lot of Twitter abuse for it. I didn’t mind reminding people this week of that Tweet!

I don’t think anyone has unrealistic expectations about England. I think it’s a case of getting through the group stage and, once you’re in knock-out football, of course there’s some chance. If things go to plan, then England have quite a good passage in the knock-out stage. But I don’t think we have the world-class players to win the World Cup.

If you had to pick a winner, who would it be?

More often than not the World Cup is won by a country from that continent. I’ve got Brazilian friends, who say the expectation on Brazil is absolutely huge. If they don’t win, it’d be a country in mourning.

Regarding athletics, what do you make of the season ahead, with Mo Farah coming back to the track, for example?

Mo hasn’t set out his plans for the season yet so we don’t know whether he’ll do the Commonwealth Games. If he did, that would be great for the event and for the British public. I think after the London Marathon maybe he doesn’t feel as loved as he should but there’s so much love for him as he’ll realise when he comes back to track. It’s a shame that Jess Ennis-Hill won’t be around but there looks to be a great athlete in the heptathlon in Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

What about the sprint guys, have we got reason to be hopeful on the global stage with James Dasaolu and Adam Gemili?

James doesn’t seem to manage those big occasions that well although he’s great at the one-off races. Adam, on the other hand, produced such a good performance at the World Championships although he’s still learning his trade. But they’ve both got good chances of medals this summer. I remember Michael Johnson saying off air last year that he was worried about Adam handling the expectation, that the media interest would be too much. But nothing seems to have fazed him.

Gabby Logan is taking part in the London to Portsmouth leg of Ride4Care tomorrow as former England rugby player Paul Sampson and Paralympian Darren Kenny take on 1,700 miles in 17 days for Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Royal Marines Charity Trust. To find out more and donate, visit www.ride4care.com